His True Family: The Beginning
by Serdd
Summary: The First in a series; His true Family is the start of an all new journey in which Harry is saved from the Dursleys and discovers who he truly is. This fic includes: Godric, Good Snape & Albus, and History of the Founders. Warning: Child Abuse: Not Grafic
1. Chapter 1

_Authors note:_ I don't talk during my stories. Any and all brackets used are still the character speaking. Thanks for reading.

**Chapter One**

"_Harry! Harry! Come on sweet heart, wake up..."_

It was with a pained groan that four year old Harry Potter fought his way back into consciousness, curious about the frantic voice calling someone's name.

He had no idea who this person was calling to. Who was Harry? Where was he? What was going on?

Now mostly awake, Harry lay still for a moment, faking sleep, and trying to remember everything that happened before his world had gone dark.

**

_It had been another normal quiet day on number 4 Privet Drive. Dudley had spent most of his day up in his room playing video games. Aunt Petunia had been keeping to her daily routine of: spying on the neighbours, finding chores for her freak of a nephew to do, spying on the neighbours, hitting the freak when he wasn't making Dudley's five daily snacks and four course lunch fast enough, and spying on the neighbours._

_Little Harry Potter wasn't feeling very well, in fact, he was pretty sure that he was getting the flu that Dudley had brought home a few days ago. Harry hated getting sick. Of course, no one likes getting sick, but Harry hated it. Whenever Dudley got sick, Aunt Petunia would stay with him all night, rubbing his back, holding a cold cloth to his head, and whipping his mouth when he had finished throwing up. She didn't do that for Harry. When Harry got sick, he was locked in the main floor washroom, and was told "don't bother us until you're back to your normal freakish self, boy!" _

_It was 4:40pm when aunt Petunia bellowed for Harry to start making dinner. Vernon would be home at five, and expected dinner on the table. _

_Trudging into the kitchen, Harry caught a glimpse of his reflection in the hall mirror; his face was nearly white and his striking green eyes teared up with the pain in his stomach and the reminder that he would have to go through it all alone...again._

"_Get in here boy! Vernon will be home soon and dinner had better be ready! And you better not ruin it or it will be the strap for you!" Petunia screeched. _

_Swallowing heavily, Harry bit back his tears. "Yes aunt Petunia." He muttered just loud enough for her to hear and walked over to the stove where a dozen pork chops had already been marinating since noon and sat waiting for him beside the stove._

"_Um, Aunt Petunia, I-I don't think I can make dinner tonight." Harry murmured weakly, the smell of the food making him nauseous._

"_What are you talking about Boy?! You'll do as you're told!" Petunia screeched, smacking him hard on the back of the head, and then walking away to set the table. _

_Bending over and holding his stomach, Harry forced himself to take a few deep breaths, and hope that his violently turning stomach would take pity on him, and stop hurting just until dinner was finished._

_With another painful groan, and a deep breath, Harry approached his stepping stool beside the stove and started dinner; only breathing in the smell of the food when it was absolutely necessary._

_**_

_Like clockwork, Uncle Vernon walked through the door at 5:00pm on the dot. Immediately recognising the smell of pork chops; Vernon smiled happily as he entered the kitchen, gave his wife a kiss on the cheek, ruffled Dudley's thick blond hair, and sat at the table, waiting to be served._

_One by one, all of the Dursleys sat at the kitchen table, and chatted about what they had done that day. Vernon was sure that he would be chosen for the current promotion that was up for grabs at Grunnings; the drill company Uncle Vernon worked for. Petunia preened on about how the neighbours' daughter had a new boyfriend, Johnny-something-or-other, who drove a motorcycle. And Dudley had beaten another level on his favourite computer game._

_Yes, it was a perfectly normal and quiet night in the Dursley household. Normal, right up to Petunia snapping her fingers as a signal for Harry to bring the food out._

_No one noticed Harry sway dangerously in front of the stove before he managed to grab hold of the counter, and shake his head, forcing himself to stay conscious just a little longer._

_Harry heard Aunt Petunia snap her fingers again impatiently, and sighed. Taking one more deep breath, Harry mustered up the rest of his strength and grabbed the plate that the pork chops were on, taking it out to the table._

_He had almost reached the table when his arms started to shake badly from the strain. Feeling his arms about to give out on him, Harry made a desperate lunge for the table. What he didn't see was one of Dudley's toys on the floor, causing him to trip, and finally let go of the platter he was holding._

_Everyone was silent except for a groaning Harry, who was clutching his twisted ankle in pain. As the silence continued, Harry looked up to see the destruction that his fall had caused._

_As soon as he had looked up, Harry wished that he hadn't._

_There, sitting at the table, now covered in still scalding, greasy pork chops, was uncle Vernon._

_Furious, Vernon jumped from the table and grabbed Harry by the throat. _

_Harry didn't bother to cry out or struggle as Vernon squeezed his throat closed. _

_Just as Vernon didn't bother to yell or curse as he dragged the boy from the kitchen and into the den. _

_They both knew that Harry was about to get another beating. The only question still up in the air was whether or not Harry would wake up after this one._

***

'_Well, I guess that answers what happened.'_ Harry thought, still pretending to sleep as he could hear whispering from somewhere nearby.

"Oh Eric..." It was a women's voice, that much was obvious, and she was...crying. Why was she crying? Her voice, it seemed familure some how...he just couldn't place it.

"I know Lily, I know..." A man. His voice seemed familure too. The voice was deep, and somehow powerful, or, it would have been if you hadn't been able to hear the obvious tears in his throat.

Bothe voices, though foreign, lulled Harry like nothing else. And for the first time in his life that he could remember; Harry allowed himself to relax in the presence of other people.

Enjoying this rare opportunity to relax, Harry allowed his curiosity to take over, and continued to pretend to sleep as he listened to the couple's conversation.

"Oh Eric, his face, his beautiful little face! And his ribs, arms, and legs! Eric he's only four, they...Why, why would they do this to him? I know that they never liked us or our world but..." The woman Harry assumed to be Lily started sobbing again.

Harry was getting a little worried now. Was this lady talking about him? And if so, what was wrong with his face? Broken arms and legs were nothing new, and he was pretty sure he had had cracked a rib or two before. But what was wrong with his face?

"I know Lily, I know... I don't know what happened...he had protections! They should have stopped this! They should have told us our son was in danger!" The man's voice was furious.

'_Their son? Am I in a hospital or something? These people must be talking about the boy in the next bed or something.'_

"But Eric, how could **we** not have known? We're his parents for Merlin's sake. We should have felt that he needed us the first time it happened. You saw the diagnostic spell; he's had multiple brakes, and I don't want to think about how many fractures! How could we not have known?!"

Lily's tears gave way to anger and Harry could have sworn he could hear what sounded like glass jars trembling together.

"Calm down Lily. You're not going to help Harry by scaring him to death or shattering all of your potion ingredients."

'_There's that name again, Harry. Who's Harry? Oh, he must be the boy in the bed beside me. Oh well, I hope he's ok.'_ Harry let out a painful sigh, finding that, yes, he was sure that he had at least two broken ribs.

At the sound of his sigh, the couple stopped talking.

"Harry?" Lily's voice sounded.

Harry didn't respond to her, but he did allow his eyes to open slightly.

"Is he okay?" His voice was strained and scratchy.

"Is who okay, dear?" Lily asked.

Harry turned his foggy eyes on the slight frame of a red haired woman.

"You're son, Harry." He said, letting his eyes close again. He was finding that it hurt to open them too far for too long. _'Definitely two more black eyes.'_

"Ha-Harry?" Lily asked shakily.

"Ya, is he okay?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"What's your name, son?" the man he thought was named Eric, asked.

"I-I don't have one sir." Harry said, ashamed. After all, it was his fault that his parent's didn't love him enough to name him.

"You don't-" Lily cut herself off with the emotion that was clogging her throat.

"I'm sorry, my boy. I am so very sorry." Eric choked out.

"Sorry for what sir?" Harry asking innocently.

"For many, many things, my boy. Many incredible mistakes." He sounded as though he was fighting a losing battle with his tears.

"That's ok, sir. I think that if you say you're sorry, and you truly mean it, than you won't do it again, and then things can be ok." Harry said. It was very sound reasoning in Harry's four year old mind.

"Thank you Harry. I truly hope you're right." Eric said with a strange fondness in his voice.

"Um, excuse me sir, but, did-did you just call me...Harry?" Harry asked quivering. He didn't know why, was starting to feel excitement in the pit of his stomach.

"Yes Harry, he did."Lily spoke up. "That's your name, and you are our son. Your full name is Harry James Gryffindor. Your aunt Petunia is-was my sister. A little over a year after you were born, something terrible happened, and your father and I had to go into hiding. We wanted you to be able to have a normal childhood, not one where you had to stay in the house all day, and could never play with children your own age, so, just like the rest of the world, we let the Dursleys believe that we were dead, and asked them to take care of you. I knew that Petunia hated our world, but I always thought that she would look past that, and raise my son as her own. I never...I swear to you Harry; if we had known...if only we had known what was happening to you...Oh Harry, we are so sorry, I-we..." Lily trailed off sobbing once more.

Harry, still in possession of some of his innocence, allowed himself to hope, to dream, that one of his many day dreams had come true and that his parent's weren't really dead, they had just lost him for a little while, and now, they had found him! They had finally come to take him home!

With hope and excitement building inside of him, Harry also felt a familure warm white light building up in his chest. Harry smiled serenely, and sighed in contentment as he felt the light completely infuse his broken body. This experience was nothing new for young Harry. His body just naturally took over after one of uncle Vernon's beatings. It was just like his hair growing back over night, or Dudley's hideous sweater shrinking so that Petunia couldn't force it over his head. It was just something strange that happened around him.

"H-Harry...What-How...Harry, how did you do that?" Lily asked, completely amazed.

Worried that he might be in trouble for doing something freakish, Harry tried franticly to come up with some kind of explanation as to how he did what he had done. What came out was a, clearly terrified, plea.

"I-I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I-I don't know how I do it! It just-It always happens after I get hurt! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I promise! I'll never do it again! Please! Please don't send me away again!" Harry was nearly in hysterics as he begged not to be sent back to the Dursleys.

Lily and Eric were heartbroken at the sight of their nearly broken son as he begged them not to send him away. The thought flashed through their minds; that a child should never have to beg their parent to not abandon them.

"Harry, love, it's ok. You're not in any kind of trouble. I was just curious. That was an incredible show of magic." Lily said soothingly, sitting gently on edge of the bed. She took extra care not to move the bed too much and jar his still healing injuries.

Thanks to his 'light' Harry's eyes had fully healed. In fact, the only part of him that was still sore was where the bone had broken. Those would remain tender for the next hour or so, he knew.

Now with his full healed eyes back to their normal semi-blurriness, Harry stiffly pulled himself up until he was able to lean back against the head board of the bed, and took a moment to examine the couple before him.

The woman, Lily, who was now sitting on his bed, had long pretty red hair and the same shade of green eyes as he did. She was thin, but not boney like aunt Petunia and had a kind smile. Her face, like her voice, seemed distantly familure.

"Mu-mum?" Harry gasped out weakly.

Lily didn't notice that she had started crying again as Harry, now crying as well, slowly leaned forward into his mother's open arms for the first time in his memory, and wept into her shoulder. Allowing himself to be comforted.

Still holding his mother tightly around the neck, Harry's tearful eyes looked up to see the man who was supposedly his father. He was an intimidating man. Or, he would have been if he hadn't had tears running down his face and a happy, quivering smile showing just within his neatly trimmed goatee. He was tall, and muscular; in Harry's mind, he looked like some king or knight from one of the fairy tales that Petunia read to Dudley every night. He had wavy, shoulder length, jet black hair, with strange yellow eyes that were somehow comforting. His strong, chiselled face, just like his voice, seemed familure.

"D-dad?" Harry's voice quivered, as he reluctantly unwrapped one of his little arms from his mother, and held it out to his father.

In one stride, Godric had his strong arms wrapped around his wife and son, as he kneeled in front of where they sat on the bed.

"Is...is it really you? Is this real?" Harry whispered, just loud enough for them to hear and holding onto his parents for dear life.

"Yes son, we're here. And I swear to you, we will never leave you again." Godric's deep voice had a soothing timber to it. So much so, that Harry found his eyes drooping.

"You promise?" he asked, as only a child could.

"Yes sweetheart, we promise." Lily whispered, stroking his hair as though she had done it a thousand times before.

All at once; the stress of the night and the unconscious use of his magic caught up with Harry, and the boy nearly collapsed in his parent's arms.

Lily and Godric panicked for a moment, before realising that he had just fallen asleep, and not into some kind of coma.

"Eric, did you see the power that he used in healing himself? I've never even heard of such a thing." Gently placing Harry down on the bed, Lily shooed Godric away for a moment so that she could run a diagnostic spell on him.

They both had to gasp at the results of the test. All of Harry injuries had been healed, but still showed that the bones had been broken at one point. True, that was truly amazing, but it was his magical core measurement that left them gaping.

For the healers at St. Mungos, there were strict rules and schedules for how long a witch or wizard could work a shift, simply because of the drain that healing spells put on the caster. A standard healer was able to cast 12 standard healing charms, such as for broken bones and the like, or 3 high powered, magic intensive spells, such as the counter curse for the flesh eating curse that also drained the victim of their magic. _(Vox Corpus – A spell used in the last battle.)_

These stipulations were regulated as the maximum because after those points, a healer would have used up at least half of their magical reserves.

The reason that Lily and Godric had been struck speechless was because; when Lily had assessed Harry's injuries the first time, it had been determined that she and Godric alone could not heal him fully. So they did what they could; Lily had first taken care of his arms, and then his jaw. She had wanted to fix his entire face, but after using five bone restoration spells on each arm, she figured that being able to communicate would be better than seeing in this case, and so used her two remaining spells to re-attach his jaw.

Godric had gone to work on Harry's legs and ribs. But even with his considerable power, Godric was not able to heal the boy completely. He had decided to work his way up, healing first a badly sprained ankle, and then the broken one. Godric went on to heal the shin-splints that had occurred over time. How, they had no idea. Next were his knees. Luckily, only one of the kneecaps had been shattered, the other had so much scar tissue around it, it was a wonder that the boy could walk.

By the time Godric had finished on Harry's left knee, the one that had been shattered, Lily had had to stop as she was getting dizzy from the magic loss. Godric's mind was getting fuzzy, but he forced himself to push on. He wouldn't allow his son to be in the pain he would undoubtedly suffer if he was to wake up with even half of his original wounds.

Stubbornly, Godric forced himself to make an attempt on Harry's ribs. Specifically the two that were dangerously close to puncturing one of his lungs.

Godric sat heavily on the bed, and allowed himself to rest when only two of the original six broken ribs remained fractured, but were no longer broken.

They hadn't been able to heal any of the bruises, or Harry's dislocated shoulder, but they hoped that it wouldn't be too painful for him to wait one night for them to recharge their cores.

After fixing as much as they could, Godric and Lily had needed to take at least two pepper-up potions each, before they were no longer too dizzy to stand.

Two fully grown and powerful wizards had not been able to do in five hours, what their four year old son had done in less than two minutes.

How was that possible?

Double and triple checking the magical diagnostic, the adults stared. Harry had done what it would have taken three fully trained healers to do, without using even half of his magical stores.

And he had done a thorough job as well. There was not a single bruise on his body, nor any swelling around any of his brakes or fractures. Even his shoulder had been put back into place.

"Come Lily, let us follow Harry's example, and get some rest." Godric said, wrapping one of his arms around Lily's shoulders, and leading her out of the room they had specially designed as Harry's so long ago.

"His name, Eric...He didn't even know his own name..." Lily whispered with an emotion akin to horror in her voice.

"I know Lily...I know..."

***


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Harry had just had a wonderful dream. He had dreamt that his parent's had come for him at last, and that he would never have to go back to the Dursleys ever again. He had dreamt that his mother had told him his actual name: Harry. That was a little odd, he thought, he always thought he looked more like a Daniel, or maybe a Derrick. But she had called him Harry. Harry James Gryffindor. And the more he ran it over in his head, the more it seemed to fit. Harry...Harry...Harry...yes, in fact, even if that wasn't his real name, he decided that **he** would name himself Harry, and tell aunt Petunia as soon as she came to unlock his cupboard.

Harry took a deep sigh in satisfaction. Then stopped breathing all together.

Something wasn't right...

As slowly as he could, Harry took another deep breath. No, he was right the first time...this couldn't be his cupboard. It didn't reek.

Over the few years that Harry had lived in his little cupboard under the stairs, it had taken on a stench all its own. Over time, the smell of stale urine, from the times when aunt Petunia refused to let him out the use the washroom, and the acidic smell of the vinegar and bleach that was always used to try and clean it up, had compounded to make the fumes nearly dizzying.

This place, where ever he was, was not his cupboard. The soft cushy bed that he was resting on was most defiantly not his rug on the floor.

Harry nuzzled his head into his pillow. There was no way that that was an old bundled up sweatshirt of Dudley's.

And finally, Harry pulled the covers up to his chin, and burrower them around his neck. The down filled comforter was most defiantly not one of Dudley's old rain coats.

It was real. His dream, his parents, hi-His Parents!

With a jolt, Harry jumped out of his warm comfy bed, and raced to the door, not even bothering to look at the room he had woken up in.

As he flung open his door, which somehow didn't make a sound, Harry looked up and down the long hallway that stretched both right and left.

He was just about to start panicking when he heard what sounded like the clatter of pots and pans.

Relying on the instincts that had served him so well so far in his short life, Harry forced himself to calm down, and follow the sound.

Creeping silently down the hall to the right, Harry allowed himself to look at the doors that he was passing. Most of them were open, showing what looked like personal offices, as well as some spare bedrooms. Predictably, it was the closed doors that drew Harry's attention. Not because they were closed, but because of the plaques on the front. Harry, thankful for the first time that aunt Petunia had taught him how to read so that she could leave him chore lists, sounded out the words carefully, as, for the most part, Harry wasn't sure if they were actual words, or someone's name.

"Pad-foot." Harry read.

"Mooon-ee."

"Black-feather."

Harry had to wonder at these, were these people's names? Did they live here with his parents? Harry continued on.

"Min-err-va."

"Al-bus."

Seeing Al-bus's last name, Harry just shook his head. He wasn't even going to attempt that one.

Just as he was about to move on to the next door, there was another clatter of pots, and the smell of sizzling bacon and sausage reached his nose.

Deciding that he could explore more later, Harry dashed off and rounded the corner to see a flight of stairs leading down.

With a laughing smile, Harry used all of the speed Dudley's gang had given him, and raced downstairs. Upon reaching the bottom, Harry followed his senses to the kitchen.

Standing just outside the door, Harry's eyes teared up at the sight that greeted him. There, standing at the sink, doing dishes; was the woman who called herself his mother. Harry still wasn't sure that he should believe these people. But in just one night, they had given him more attention and comfort then the Dursleys had his whole life.

Harry decided to put his last once of faith in this couple, and hope that they didn't crush him under their boots.

Without a sound, Harry walked into the kitchen, and up to the red headed woman.

"M-mum?" Harry asked timidly.

Startled, Lily jumped at the sound of his voice, and dropped the plate she had been washing back in the sudsy water.

Laughing, Lily was holding her hand to her heart as she turned around to face her son, her eyes dancing with happiness.

"Morning." Harry said with a shy smile.

Harry himself did a fair impression of his mother as he jumped slightly when Lily gave a happy little squeal, and plucked Harry up in her arms, twirling them around till they were both dizzy.

Harry was laughing happily by the time Lily sat him on the Kitchen table.

"Good morning sweetheart! What would you like for breakfast? Anything special?" Lily asked, turning back to the stove, and checking on what she already had started.

Harry wasn't used to this; most of the time he was lucky to get what scraps he could. He wanted to tell his mother this. He wanted to ask her how he got here, and why they had sent him away. He had tons of questions for both of his parents.

But he also didn't want to ask them right now. Right now, his mother was asking him what he wanted for breakfast, and there wasn't a Dursley in sight. Harry decided that his questions could wait.

"Um, whatever you're making is great. It smells delicious." Harry said, swinging his legs as he sat on the table.

"Well, your father requested his usual heart attack on a plate, so you're in luck, we're having bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, pancakes, hash browns, and toast. Does that still sound ok, or would you like something else?" Lily hummed as she prepared everything.

Harry's mouth was watering.

"Um...mum..." Harry asked hesitantly.

Lily turned to face him, and Harry put his head down in shame.

"Yes Harry?"

"Do-can I have some of that, or do you want me to make my own?"

Lily didn't respond.

As the silence continued, Harry reluctantly raised his head, to see his mother with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!" Harry panicked. He didn't know what he was apologising for, or really why Lily was crying, but he was sure it was his fault.

"No, Harry, no, you didn't make me cry." Lily soothed, sitting beside Harry on the table, and pulling him into her arms. "I'm sorry Harry. I'm sorry that you even had to ask that question. Of course you can have some of the food I'm making. You can have as much as you want." Lily said, running her fingers through his messy black hair. "How about this; after breakfast; you, your father, and I are going to sit down and have a long talk. I'm sure you have thousands of questions for us, and we have most of the answers. Does that sound ok?"

Harry nodded and closed his eyes as he rested his head on his mother's shoulder.

"Where is dad, anyway?" Harry asked. The term felt foreign to his lips but pleasant at the same time.

Lily sighed and said in a tone that was half joking, half exasperated, "Knowing your father, he's probably in his den gabbing to your uncles Padfoot, Mooney, and BlackFeather all about you. I swear, those four are worse than a bunch of teenage girls sometimes."

Harry snickered, then asked, "I have more uncles? Does that mean I have more aunts too? And what about grandparents? Do I have any grandparents?" he asked excitedly.

Lily giggled. "You have three uncles: Padfoot, Mooney, and BlackFeather. Those are just their nicknames, but we'll explain that after breakfast. You do also have another aunt as well, but I'm afraid that her husband is not the nicest of people, and he won't allow her to see us anymore. She was one of my best friends, and I miss her dearly. As for grandparents, well, I suppose you could consider Albus and Minerva to be your grandparents." Lily finished with a smile.

"Wait a minute, Pad-foot, Moonie, Black-feather, Min-er-va and Al-bus were all written on the doors up stairs! Do they live here with you?" Harry asked, grinning.

Lily grinned back as she stood, and made her way back over to the stove, where the food had finished cooking.

"Sometimes they do. We've had a few occasions were one or all of them have been unfit to Floo home, so we just let them bunk here. Eventually, it happened often enough that your uncle Padfoot decided that they should all have rooms of their own. Of course, as you'll learn, when ever your father wants to do something that he knows I won't like, he won't tell me until after he's done it, and it's too late for me to say no." Lily turned to see Harry grinning, and had to shake her head ruefully. She could already tell that he would be just as much trouble as his father. She continued: "Have you ever heard of the saying 'It's easier to ask for forgiveness, than permission'?" Harry nodded.

"Well, your father seems to live by that rule. I think that I can honestly say, that I have never once given my permission for one of the Marauder's pranks."

"Marauders?" Harry asked, he was greatly enjoying his mother's stories.

Lily waved her hand. "That's what they call their little gang."

"Gang? What do they do together? They don't hurt people do they?" Harry asked, still swinging his legs. For the first time in his life, Harry was allowed to ask questions. He wasn't allowed to ask questions at the Dursleys'. But here, he hadn't been told not to ask questions once, and he hadn't even been reprimanded for asking stupid questions. This was a very good thing, because, at the moment, all he had were questions.

"Oh Merlin, no, although; many a professor, and a few student's, have suffered wounded pride because of them. Your father and your uncles were famous for their pranks. All through Hogwarts, there was barely ever an incident where you couldn't blame them for something mischievous that had happened."

"Ah, but Lily, my dear, you're forgetting the real reason we were so famous." Godric said, walking into the room, smiling brightly.

Harry grinned widely as his father entered and jumped off the table.

Godric was laughing heartily, a deep merry sound, as he plucked Harry off of the floor and tossed him up in the air and then catching him. They did this a few more times, before they seemed to latch on to one another fiercely.

Godric held Harry to him effortlessly, while Harry clung to his father's neck.

"I missed you, son."

Harry tried not to let the tears that had gathered in his eyes fall, but it was no use. Harry had wanted to hear those words his entire life, and now, here he was; being hugged by his father, while his mother was setting the table for a breakfast that he was going to be allowed to eat.

"I missed you too, dad."

Godric chuckled happily, and pulled Harry back to look at him.

"Right, let's get a look at you...yes, yes, that glamour is working perfectly. Harry my boy, with the exception of your mother's eyes; you already look just as I did when I had to attend Hogwarts as a student."

"You keep mentioning Hogwarts." Harry said, turning from one parent to another. "What is Hogwarts?"

"Why don't you two come and sit down for breakfast, and we'll tell you all about Hogwarts, Harry." Lily said, smiling as Godric carried Harry over to the table, and sat him down.

Taking his regular seat, Godric chuckled. "As I was saying before I was attacked by a runaway four year old," Harry blushed, but was still grinning. At this point, he was starting to think that the smile would be permanent. "Your uncles and I were famous in school because; even though everyone knew that we had pulled the pranks, none of the professors, not even the headmaster, could prove that we had done it. You see Harry; the key to getting away with anything is to make sure you don't get caught."

Godric had barely finished his sentence before Lily had wacked him on the back of the head with a wooden spoon.

"Godric Gabriel Gryffindor, Harry hasn't even been here a day, and you're already a bad influence. I can't believe that you just told him that!" Lily scolded, even as she was spooning helping of hot food into Harry's plate.

"What? If he's going to be an honorary Marauder, he needs to know the code." Godric defended himself.

"Not until he's old enough to know when you're joking."

Harry was used to being talked about as if he weren't there. But that was the only familure thing about this conversation. But, that was different too; they were talking about him, but it wasn't in a nasty way. They were talking about how and when he would be included in something. And they were joking with each other. That was defiantly not 'normal' in the Dursley household. Uncle Vernon liked being angry and frustrated, where aunt Petunia liked being snooty, bossy, and mean. Overall, one did not joke in the Dursley household unless it was over something that happened to someone else. And it definitely wasn't good.

"So, Harry, you wanted to know about Hogwarts," Godric said as they all tucked in to the delicious smelling food.

Harry, who had his mouth full, could only nod.

"Well, Hogwarts is a school. But not just any kind of school..."

"Eric, wait, don't you think we should tell him about his what he is, before you explain Hogwarts? It might be easier."

Godric nodded.

"Harry dear, you might want to stop eating for a moment; we wouldn't want you to choke." Lily advised sweetly.

Harry did as Lily suggested, and put down his knife and fork. Harry's face showed his curiosity as well as a little apprehension.

"Harry, you know how you healed yourself last night? You said that it had happened before? Has anything else like that happened to you, or around you? Have you ever made something move or change because you got angry or upset?" Lily asked, looking patently curious.

Harry nodded softly, he was now defiantly nervous.

Lily nodded confidently.

"I know. Harry all of those things...they were caused by what we call accidental magic. You see...you're a wizard Harry." Ignoring his look of shock and disbelief, Lily carried on. "Just like your father and your uncles and your grandfather. Grandma Minnie is a witch, as am I. As such, we are able to do magic," Here, Lily pulled out her wand, and flicked it towards the refrigerator door causing it to open, and the milk to float over to the table.

Harry could only watch in stunned amazement as the milk bottle poured its contents into his glass all by its self. After watching the bottle float back to its place in the fridge, Harry turned to his father as though asking for his magic demonstration.

Godric chuckled, "You want to see something really neat?"

Harry nodded avidly, and Lily looked worried for a moment.

"Fawkes!"

A flash of fire appeared floating above the kitchen table, and Harry could do nothing but stare in awe at what was obviously a magical creature.

"His name is Fawkes, he's your Grandfather's familure." Godric explained with a curious grin. He was obviously waiting to see what Harry's reaction would be.

"Wow..." was all the boy could say as he stared, open mouthed, at the stunning creature before him.

Trilling his happy song, Fawkes made a few laps around the breakfast table before landing directly in front of Harry; appearing to study him.

A minute passed before Harry tentatively reached his hand out to pet the firebird's head.

"Wow." Harry breathed again. Godric and Lily decided to wait for Harry to break the silence.

After petting the increasable creature before him a few more times, Harry sat back in his seat, lost in thought.

Sensing that his presence was no longer required, Fawkes flashed back to his human's office. Fawkes's departing flash of fire served to wake Harry from where his mind had wandered.

"So...so, all those times when I was hungry, and food appeared beside me in my cupboard; all of the times that I healed overnight, or hid and no one could find me...that was all magic?" Harry's hushed voice said as more of a statement than a question.

Once again Lily was brought to tears, and Godric's eyes looked suspiciously misty.

"Yes son. That was your magic taking care of you." Godric said gruffly around the lump in his throat.

"And...and it was my magic...that brought me here. It was my magic that let me find you?" again, he said this as more of a statement of fact rather than the question it was made out to be.

"Harry," Godric called the boy from his musings. "Son, could you tell us a little more about what it was like living at the Dursleys?"

When Harry's face flushed with shame, and he turned his head away, Godric hastened to add; "only if you feel able. I'm sorry son, I can't imagine how difficult it must be to think about them. But..." Godric trailed off, looking helpless.

"I-I...I don't...what do you want to know?" Harry asked, looking every bit the helpless little four year old he was.

Lily slowly eased her way around the kitchen table at sat beside Harry.

"Let's start with what you know," Lily spoke softly, "When is your birthday?"

Harry couldn't meet their eyes and looked down in shame.

"I don't know." He whispered.

Neither Lily or Godric said anything for a long moment.

"How did you come to live with the Dursleys?" Lily tried again.

"I-you-I-...Aunt Petunia said that both you and dad were killed in a car crash because you had been drinking because you were upset that you had had me, and you didn't want any kids. She said that I was in the car when we crashed and that's when I got my scar. When you and dad were killed, aunt Petunia was forced to take me in." Harry reiterated the story that he had been told many times without looking up once. He refused to meet their eyes partly out of shame, but mostly out of the stringent fear that something in his story would ring true, and they would regret taking him back.

"I have nightmares all the time of a lady screaming and then a bright flash of green light, and then I wake up and my scar hurts. I always figured that was why aunt Petunia hated me so much; because it was my fault that he sister was dead. That's what uncle Vernon always said, anyways. That I killed you. If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have been drinking and dri-"

Harry was cut off suddenly as Lily lunged for him. Harry, being very used too sudden and unprovoked attacks reacted instinctively and raised his arms to cover his head, and his knees rose in order to protect his stomach.

Lily saw his reaction to her sudden movement clearly, but didn't halt her action. Instead, Lily moved forward even quicker, and lifted Harry off of his chair, and placed him firmly in her lap, wrapping her arms securely around him.

The room was engulfed in silence.

Godric had watched all of this without uttering a sound.

His son, his Harry had been beaten to within an inch of his life...multiple times. He had obviously been starved for most of his life_...'it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the only thing keeping him alive right now was his magic. How did this happen...how could we have let this happen?' _Godric thought, his heart breaking.

When Harry finally realised that he wasn't under attack, he let his legs relax, and slowly lowered his arms.

"What-"

"I'm sorry Harry! I'm so, so sorry! None of what that horrible woman told you was true!" Lily pulled back just enough that she could look Harry in the eyes. "I swear Harry, your father and I...we always wanted you! That night, that night we were forced to give you up...we-we thought that it was the right thing to do...we knew that we had to go into hiding, and that being cooped up in a house at all times was no way for a child to grow up. I'm so sorry Harry. We made the decision the night of the attack to let you grow up in a normal family setting where you could have friends and family, and go outside and play. We thought that you would be happier...Harry, letting you go that night was the hardest thing we've ever had to do, and I am so, so sorry that we did. It was the worst decision we have ever made!"

All throughout her little speech, Lily never once let go of Harry. When Harry heard his mother say that she and his father had never wanted to give him up, he allowed himself to wrap his arms around his mother, and cry into her shoulder.

This was it. This was the feeling Harry had been craving all of his short life. Finally, for the first time that he could remember Harry was being held and comforted by someone that loved him.

It was a little overwhelming, and going to take a lot of getting used to.

Tears running down her cheeks, Lily looked over to Godric, who was also in tears, and nodded her head with conviction.

Godric nodded back in agreement, and smiled slightly.

"Why don't we take this into the family room? Breakfast can wait I think."

As Godric spoke and rose from the table, Harry's tears had stopped, and he was now merely watching his father quietly with his head resting on his mother's shoulder.

Cautiously, Godric stepped towards Lily and Harry, and reached his arms out; silently asking if Harry would let him carry him. Hesitant to let go of his newfound mother, Harry slowly retracted his arms from around Lily's neck, and reached out for Godric, who swiftly pulled the small boy up and into his arms, and held him against his strong chest. Once again Harry let his head rest on his parent's shoulder.

Without speaking, all three of them walked into the family room, and sat on the large, plush red couch which was facing a grand, ornate fireplace complete with roaring fire and an equally large and ornate gold framed mirror above it.

As soon as they were all sitting, with Harry positioned so that he was touching both of them, Godric began:

"Harry, I'd like to tell you about that night; the night that your mother and I were forced to give you up. You see, that night I was out at an important meeting with your grandfather. When we returned home, the door was hanging off one hinge, and there were burn marks around the edges of the door. When we rushed in, it was to see your mother on the floor covered in cuts and bruises, and a large bump on her head. Almost the entirety of the inside of the house had been scorched. I raced to your mother's side..."

_**(Flashback)**_

"_Lily! Lily! Oh God, Lily, are you alright?" Godric yelled racing over to the prone body of his wife and falling to his knees at her side. With shaking hands, Godric reached out to try and find a pulse._

_He found one. _

_Godric wept into his wife's hair in relief when his fingers found proof of her strong heart beat._

"_G-Godric?" Lily's weak voice whispered, and Godric moved his head back so that his hand could caress her bruised cheek._

"_It's alright love, I'm here. Everything's ok."_

"_H-Harry?"_

_Godric's eyes widened, and his head shot up to look in the direction of Harry's nursery._

"_Godric?" Lily questioned, looking up at him in worry._

_Just then, Dumbledore walked out of the blackened room with a slightly fussing Harry in his arms._

"_He's alright Lily, just a little cut on his forehead." _

_From her vantage point on the ground, Lily was unable to actually see her son or his condition but took his cooing and babbling as a good sign._

_With a sigh, Lily allowed herself to relax back into Godric's arms as he lifted her effortlessly and cradled her to his chest just as Albus was doing to baby Harry._

"_Albus, let's get them back to Gryffindor Manor. I don't think we'll be using the cottage again for a while."_

_With a nod Albus and Godric apparated from the smouldering remains of the Potter family cottage._

_**(End of Flashback)**_

"After getting Lily patched up, as well as healing the large cut that is now your scar as best we could, Lily told us what happened. How Voldemort had barged in determined to kill you. How Lily had fought him as best she could before he threw her into the wall, knocking her out. And how the last thing she remembered was a blinding flash of green light. Your grandfather was the one to deduce what had happened, and, after casting a Place-Memory spell on your room, it was determined that he was right."

"What? What happened? And-and who is Voldemort?" Harry asked, enthralled by the tale.

Lily and Godric's eyes widened. "That's right, we forgot that you didn't know. Voldemort was a very powerful, very evil wizard. About three years ago there was a war being fought between Voldemort and wizarding Brittan. His army, the Death eaters, were the worst of the worst, and committed the most unspeakable and horrible acts. All in the name of Lord Voldemort." As Lily spoke her eyes turned stony. When she finished, her face released with a gentle glowing smile.

"As to what happened...You happened, Harry." Lily answered with a softly.

"Huh?" Harry asked, confused.

Godric chuckled slightly, and continued; "You see Harry, the sound of your mother screaming and then hitting the wall woke you up. You were not even a year old, but somehow, when you saw him standing over your mother, you were able to deflect the power of the Killing Curse from hitting her."

Harry's face showed his utter bewilderment as he looked over at his mother then back to his father.

"I-I still don't understand."

Godric smiled gently. "To be honest Harry, neither do we. We know now that the green light Lily saw before she lost consciousness was aimed at her and not you like we first thought, but how you blocked it, we have no idea. The hallway that we found your mother in had so much magic damage that all place memory had been erased."

Harry sat back into the couch just thinking everything over. He knew that the story wasn't over, but his head was spinning, and just needed a minute.

Recognising their son's silence for what it was, Godric and Lily sat back as well and waited for him ask his next question.

"Is that when I really got my scar?" Harry asked, looking back up at them after a few moments.

"Not quite." Lily answered him this time. "You see, after Voldemort realised what you had done, he turned to you. You were the whole reason he was there to begin with. After confirming that I wasn't going anywhere, Voldemort walked into your room, aimed his wand right between your eyes, and fired another Killing Curse without hesitation."

Harry gasped slightly, and raised one hand to run it along his scar.

Lily nodded, answering his silent question.

"Yes Harry, that's when you received your scar. No one, not even your grandfather, has any idea as to how you deflected the curse back at him, or why it didn't kill you. All that's known for certain is that; the night he faced you; Voldemort and his influence was vanquished."

"But...he's not gone for good is he?" Harry asked in a tone that was more of a statement than a question.

Lily and Godric looked at him in surprise.

"Why do you say that, son?" Godric asked with open curiosity.

Harry shrugged and looked down at his hands resting in his lap.

"Just a feeling I guess."

"And what else does this feeling tell you, sweetheart?" Lily asked gently.

"It-it's more like a-a knowing, you know? In my gut, I just know; he's not gone for good, and that, someday, I'll have to face him again."

The three of them fell into a deep silence following Harry's revelation.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Harry asked, raising his head to look both his parent's in the eye.

Lily nodded, tears in her eyes, and Godric took the chance to explain.

"There was a prophecy. It was the whole reason you were targeted in the first place. There isn't a whole lot to it, but the black and white of it is that in the end, it will come down to either you or him.

Harry nodded his head, leaning forward, and resting his elbows on his knees.

"So, so what does that mean for me?" He asked, resigned.

Lily looked slightly taken aback, "what do you mean sweetheart?"

Harry sighed. "I mean, does this mean you and Dad are going to train me to fight this guy, or am I just supposed to rely on what defeated him the first time?"

Lily and Godric looked at each other for a long moment before turning back to Harry who was looking deeply into the fire.

"We'll all fight at some point son." Said Godric at last, placing his large hand on Harry's small shoulder. "And we'll teach you everything we know as you get older. I promise you this Harry; when the time comes, you'll be ready. And you'll win."

With a determined nod of his head in a manner much older than his four years, Harry looked up into the mirror that reflected the rest of the room.

Both Lily and Godric watched in amusement when Harry shifted forward with a jolt.

"What is it Harry?" Lily asked with a smile, as she had a good idea of what was running through her son's head.

"You-I...I don't...I don't look anything like you..." Harry said with disappointment, turning to look at Godric.

To which Godric let out a strong hearty laugh.

Lily smiled beatifically, as she answered him.

"Actually sweetheart, that's very observant of you." Lily praised. "That's actually a very long story, are you sure that you wish to hear it now?"

Harry tilted his head to one side in thought. A gesture that was so utterly Godric, that it caused Lily to let out a small giggle, and Godric to grin broadly.

"Actually...can we finish breakfast first?" Harry asked tentatively.

Lily beamed at him and nodded.

Together they rose from the couch, and Lily offered her hand to Harry, who took it without question this time and beamed up at her when she gently closed her hand around his. Lily smiled back as she led them into the kitchen with Godric following.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Once they were all once again seated at the breakfast table, all three dug in to the delicious meal of bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, toast and pancakes.

"Wow! This is really good!" Harry said after swallowing a very large bite of sausage and egg.

"Thank you sweetheart," Lily smiled. "Have you ever had bacon and eggs before?" she asked casually.

Godric shot her a glance, then turned to glance at Harry as well.

Forgetting himself, Harry didn't even realise that he was really speaking as he continued to munch on his first real breakfast.

"Well, I've had a little. Whenever Dudley or uncle Vernon didn't finish something on their plate I was allowed to have the scraps. I tried cooking more once, and hiding the extra, but aunt Petunia caught me and locked me in my cupboard for a few weeks for that one. Oh, and there was the last time aunt Marge visited; she made aunt Petunia cook and extra plate of food for her dog, Ripper. I was really lucky that day. Ripper doesn't like eggs or pancakes, so I got his entire dish. Uncle Vernon and Dudley thought that because I was eating the dog's food, I should have to eat it out of Ripper's dish, but aunt Marge didn't want Ripper sharing the same bowl as me, so I got my own plate. That was the biggest meal I'd ever had. Except for today, this is really great mum!" Harry said enthusiastically. He looked up briefly to grin at both of his parents, not seeing the horrified expressions on their faces, as he turned his head back to his food.

Then he took a drink.

And nearly spit it out.

"I-Is something wrong dear?" Lily asked, her voice shaking even as she tried to sound happy and relaxed. She glanced up at Godric and found the same expression of abject horror on his face, as she could feel on hers.

"What-what is this?" Harry asked in wonder staring into his cup.

"I-it's pumpkin juice..." Lily trailed off. She found herself completely out of her depth.

"Have you never had pumpkin juice before?" Godric asked unnecessarily, trying to feign disinterest.

"N-no..." Harry took another tentative sip. "This is wonderful! All I've ever had was water. Well, there was this one time that Dudley gave me a bit of his milk, but then he told uncle Vernon that I stole it and I got a whipping, so..." This time, when Harry looked up, he clearly saw the looks of horror on his parent's faces, and looked back down.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't." Godric said in a demanding whisper.

That one word seemed to shake both Lily and Godric from their thoughts.

"Harry, I think it's time that we told you the whole story of who you are." Lily said, rising from the table, and with a flick of her wand, sending the dirty dishes into the sink.

"Ok."

Once again, all three made their way into the family room and onto the big couch in front of the fire.

"Ok Harry, let's start with Hogwarts. That seems to be the where everything truly started. Now, if you have any questions, I'll ask that you wait, because I'll probably answer them as I go along." Godric instructed.

Harry nodded.

"Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded in the year 976 by the four founders: Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, and...Myself, Godric Gryffindor."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, but managed to force himself from asking any questions.

"Rowena used to have a saying: 'find a problem, and fix it.'" Godric reflected. "You see Harry, in those times, magic was not as looked down on as it was a few years ago, or even today. Back during the 900's magic was a widely accepted way of life. However, though accepted, it was not actively taught. Many young witches and wizards often went without proper instruction, and because of this, bouts of accidental magic were common, often wreaking havoc. It was especially difficult for children who came from non-magical parents. That is why we decided to create Hogwarts. Helga, Rowena, Salazar and I were all very good friends growing up, as all of us came from magical families, and so had been taught magic by Merlin. You see, Merlin saw the need for such teachings as well. However, Merlin also knew that such magic in the wrong hands was a risk, and so only took on students with strong moral fibre. Unfortunately, Merlin passed on not long after our learning had concluded. The four of us were his last ever pupils.

In the beginning, during the construction of Hogwarts, it was wonderful. We very rarely disagreed on anything, and we knew that our purpose was noble. Right from the beginning, we knew that we wanted our own houses. Each of us had certain traits that we felt represented us better. For Helga, it was loyalty, kindness, and diligence." Godric paused here to chuckle. "I miss Helga. No one ever dared mess with Helga. She was...well, I think that the best way to describe Helga would to say that her house animal suited her to a T. A badger: soft, sweet, and unassuming looking. But mess with one of her children and find out just how fierce and powerful she really was." Here Godric sighed, and Lily moved her arm across the top of the couch to rest it on Godric's shoulder. Godric moved his own hand to hold hers.

"Even after all these years, it's still painful to have to use past tense in regards to them." Godric then shook his head and continued on, the smile returning to his face.

"Then there was Rowena. Rowena valued insight, intelligence, and perseverance in her students. She was a fighter, let me tell you. She and Salazar would argue for hours on end over different subjects such as philosophy and astronomy." Godric chuckled again. "Salazar rarely won an argument. I swear, most of the time he would start in on some random topic just to see how mad she would get when he insisted he was right, and she was disputing him with fact, and he with theory." Slowly, Godric's smile started to dim.

"Finally we come to Salazar. He and I were great friends all through our childhood. When it came to his house requirements, Salazar preferred ingenuity, cunning, and ambition. Salazar was an incredible strategist. It was he and I who created all of the secret passageways within Hogwarts, as well as how and where the different dorms would be hidden. All of us, as a rule, knew where every single secret passageway, faulty step or door was located, and how to open all doors or entrances within Hogwarts halls. Or so we thought. As I said, Salazar valued ingenuity, cunning, and ambition above all else. As good as those traits are, there is also a dark side. And that's a side, I'm ashamed to say, that none of us ever saw in Salazar until it was too late. Unbeknownst to Helga, Rowena and I, Salazar had gone behind our backs and created a secret chamber within the school that none of us were to know about. And he hid it well; none of us had any clue. Why should we, everything was wonderful, or so we thought."

"All of this came to light roughly 300 years into our teaching at Hogwarts. Around the beginning of the 12th century, magic had since become the more taboo subject that it is today, and more and more children were being...discriminated against because of what they were. We were finding that, whenever we would send out a Hogwarts acceptance letter to a muggleborn witch or wizard, (muggle, that's what we call people with no magical ability), one of three things would happen: 1) The letter would get ripped up and tossed in the fire, 2) The family would ask someone in their village about a magic school called Hogwarts and the family would then be exiled from their village, or 3) The family would disown the child altogether."

"When told of this problem, Helga and Rowena and I all agreed that something needed to be done to help these children. Salazar, on the other hand, wanted to not allow muggleborn's (children born to muggle parents) admittance to Hogwarts, period. I'll admit, at the time, I thought Salazar was just joking. It was Rowena who discovered the truth. Since the very beginning of Hogwarts opening its doors, Salazar had never once chosen a muggleborn to be in his house. Even children with only one magical parent were few and far between. Upon this discovery, the three of us confronted Salazar, and he confessed to it all. Apparently, he had always held a small amount of contempt for muggleborns, and over the years, that contempt had grown. I couldn't believe it; here was one of my best friends, a man I had known all of my life, and I had no idea who he really was."

"These revelations, and the growing animosity between Salazar and I all came to a head on August 29th 1279. That was the day I discovered the Chamber of Secrets and its purpose. Hidden deep within the school, Salazar had created a large chamber that was to house a monstrous creature. When I confronted Salazar about the Chamber, he told me everything; how he was leaving the school for good and how one day his heir would open the Chamber of Secrets and finish a job that he himself was unable accomplish. To this day, I have no idea what kind of creature the Chamber holds, but I do know that it has once been released, and did, in fact, kill a girl; Myrtle Marigold, before it suddenly stopped. No one knows why. Anyway, when he told me about the creature, I told him that he couldn't do that. That it was murder to house such a creature. I demanded that he either destroy the creature himself, or show me where the chamber was hidden so that I could kill it. He refused, and the battle begun."

"Right there, on the very lawns where the four of us had stood 303 years ago and decided to create a school to educate young witches and wizards, my once best friend and I battled." Godric paused for a minute to collect his thoughts, and stared into the fire. "Salazar was like a brother to me. And it killed me to have to fight him. And I did fight him. But I-I couldn't hurt him. Not seriously. It wasn't until I had to dodge an _Avada Kedavra_, the killing curse, and then another cutting hex, that I knew; this was not some petty squabble. This was going to be a fight to the death, and only one of us was going to walk away. Salazar would make certain of that. It was him or me. And as much as Salazar was the strategist, I was the fighter. Salazar could tell you how and when to move, but actually being able to complete a manoeuvre was not his strong suit. After a lengthy battle, it finally came to an end. With my last ounce of strength, I fired an _Avada Kedavra_."

Harry couldn't help but gasp slightly.

"And then, a most wondrous thing happened..." Godric continued as thought he had not heard Harry's gasp. "Salazar fired one last spell just before my _AK_ hit. It was a spell of his own creation, and has not been heard of since. I suppose, or hope, that it died with him. The last thing I remember of that day on the lawns of Hogwarts was a massive orb of bright blue light." Godric took his eyes from the fire, and turned to see Harry looking at him with rapt attention. Godric chuckled, and the thought flitted through his mind that he had never had a better audience.

"Now, Harry, this is where my story gets good." Harry's eyes bulged and he turned so that he was sitting sideways on the couch, cross-legged, with his back facing his mother. "There's more? What happened? What was that blue light?" Harry hammered off, his voice full of excitement to hear the rest of his father's story. And Godric chuckled again.

"When I woke up, I was right where I had fallen. I was at Hogwarts. I lifted myself off of the ground, it was night, and everything was quiet. Slowly, I trudged into the school, and up to my office. I didn't notice anything different; I was too devastated over what had just happened, and too tired to care about anything other than getting to my office and going to bed."

"It wasn't until the next day that I noticed anything was amiss. I swear I must have screamed when I looked in the mirror, and found my 11 year old self staring back at me." Harry's eyes had now widened incredulously, and Godric nodded emphatically, unconsciously sitting exactly like his son, with his legs crossed and sitting sideways so that they were facing each other. Lily didn't know whether to roll her eyes at the two of them, of burst into giggles. She settled for rolling her eyes with a fond smile.

"That's right Harry; Salazar had somehow created a spell to send me forward in time. How I ended up in my younger body I still have no idea. The first thing I did was call Ed, you'll meet him later. He told me the date: August 29th, 1976. Salazar had indeed been killed by my AK, Rowena and Helga had gone on to run the school for a few more years before finally settling down to have their own families. My cousin, the last of my family had also gone on to have a family of her own, but they had eventually died out as well."

"The school had continued running for the last 700 years or so, and was now being run by the newest headmaster; Albus Dumbledore, of whom Hogwarts herself was quite fond of. In essence, Ed took me through and got me caught up on the last 697 years."

"Together, Ed and I decided that, because a new school year was so quickly approaching, and I looked to be around 11 or 12 years old, that I would play myself off as a regular first year. There were only two problems: one, I looked far too much like, well, me, and that would draw unwanted attention. Two, did I tell the Headmaster or just wait out my school years and keep it all to myself?"

"Eventually I decided to wait and see exactly what kind of man this; Albus Dumbledore was, and, if anyone did manage to figure out who I really was, well, I would deal with that when the time came. As too my appearance, that was a rather easy fix; a relatively strong glamour which I would have to reapply every new moon would work perfectly. So, with Ed's help, I tracked down a picture of my last remaining relative and copied his look exactly. I made myself thinner, more wiry, gave myself short messy black hair, sharper features, and, of course, the signature black framed glasses. Finally, I changed my name: James Potter. The same name of the last member of my cousin's family."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

With a sigh, Godric sat back so that he was leaning against the arm of the couch.

"And that's both the end, and the beginning of my story. I suppose I can sum up the rest. I did eventually tell Albus who I was, but not until after a few people found out. The first to know was Sirius Black. He and Remus Lupin had quickly become my two best friends.

As soon as Sirius found out, he begged me to let him tell Remus. I did, and we have been the best of friends ever since. After them came Albus, and then Minerva.

Minnie was, and still is, the transfiguration professor and deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, as well as Albus's wife. And before you say anything, yes, I know that they have different last names. That is because they wish to hide their true relationship. It's just easier that way.

Anyways, where was I...oh yes, after Minnie was your mother. You should probably learn this now, son; your mother is the smartest woman in the world. You see; Sirius had followed me one night as I snuck off to reapply the glamour. After that, Sirius made me tell Remus; then the both of them ganged up on me to tell Albus, who in turn asked to be able to tell Minnie.

Your mother, who I was already madly in love with, figured it out all on her own. And she STILL wouldn't go out with me!" Godric groused good naturedly, causing Harry to laugh and look back at his mother, who rolled her eyes at her husband's antics.

"By the end of the third year, they all knew, and I had a tight nit family in the making. However, there were still two missing members.

From first through third year; Sirius, Remus and I had an outstanding prank war with a Slytherin by the name of Severus Snape. It was great; neither of us could ever keep the upper hand for long. Then, at the beginning of fourth year a new teacher arrived at Hogwarts to teach potions.

Horus Slughorn was a small, selfish, self-serving man, who knew his potions, as well as his rich and famous. And suddenly; Snape and I had a common enemy. It started with little things, such as not getting in the way of each other's pranks, then brainstorming ideas on how we could combine our pranks in order to make them legendary. I could say that that was the beginning of the Marauders, but it wasn't until Severus met Narcissa Black, Sirius's cousin, and Lily's best friend, that our group was truly complete.

Narcissa and Lily were truly the brains of the Marauders. Where Lily knew how to work the spells and what should be used for what, Cissa was always coming up with ways to explain how it wasn't us pulling the pranks, when really it was.

I remember this one time; Padfoot, Mooney, BlackFeather and I had been pulled into the Headmasters office for staining the bathroom sink water blue, so you could see who washed their hands after using the washroom, and who didn't. Well, we were all positive that this was it. We had been caught; it would be detentions for the rest of our Hogwarts careers. When suddenly Cissa came flying through the door announcing that we couldn't have been the ones who did it because over a dozen other students swore that they had seen all four of us out on the Quidditch pitch when that prank was thought to have taken place.

That doubt was enough to ensure that nothing could be pinned on us, and that we got off, once again, scot free. Of course, we got the tongue lashing of our lives all the way back to the apartment for nearly getting caught, and getting her Severus in trouble. He said that he got yelled at after they had gotten back to their common room, but none of us believed him. Narcissa never even raised her voice to 'her Severus'." Godric finished by rolling his eyes.

Harry was confused, and looked it.

"Wait a minute, I don't understand; if aunt Narcissa and uncle BlackFeather were in love, why aren't they together? Mum said that aunt Narcissa married someone else, and that she wasn't allowed to see you anymore." Harry asked innocently.

Godric nodded gravely.

"Yes Harry, I'm afraid that's all true. You see, in wizarding families the father is regarded as the head of the house, and by law, the father or husband for all intents and purposes owns his family. Now, although that line of thought is technically law, not very many families follow such a barbaric way of life. However, Narcissa's father was one of the few who did. As was the family he sold her too.

You see, Severus Snape, your uncle BlackFeather, was not what Narcissa's father was looking for when in the market for a husband for his daughter. Severus wasn't a pureblood, someone with wizarding parents, nor was he very well off, nor did he have much pull in the government or society as a whole. The only thing Severus had going for him was that Narcissa was in love with him; a fact that didn't matter at all to Narcissa's father. In the end, Mr. Black chose a man by the name of Lucious Malfoy; a man that held all of the money and prestige that Mr. Black was looking for in a suitor. Severus didn't stand a chance. The last time any of us ever saw Narcissa was at out graduation from Hogwarts."

Godric lowered his head sadly.

"They have a son," Lily decided to finish the story, "His name is Draco we've been told, and he's about the same age as you are. Severus has never forgiven himself for allowing her to be taken from us."

The room was engulfed in silence, and the small family of three continued to simply sit and think, and absorb all that had been dug up over the hours of their story telling.

***

The following years showed happy times of all occasions. Harry spent days on end recapturing the childhood he had only ever dreamed about. He spent time getting to know his new found family.

From bonding with his uncles over potions, fetch, and learning about different magical creatures.

To spending time listening to the many stories his grandfather would tell him, and letting his grandmother coddle him, and help him get away with stuff when he thought no one was looking.

In essence, Harry now had the kind of childhood most kids could only dream about.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_*The following are flashes of Harry's life growing up.*_

"Happy Birthday sweetheart!" Lily sang as Harry entered the kitchen one morning to be greeted by the site of his father, his three uncles and his grandparents.

Harry blinked in surprise a few times before smiling widely in understanding.

"Oh wow!" he said in excitement.

"Happy birthday son!" Godric said, getting up from the table and tossing Harry up in the air before catching him in a hug.

"Thanks dad." Harry grinned goofily.

Still sitting in his father's arms, Harry looked over at everyone, and the huge breakfast his mother had made.

"So, what day is it?" he asked innocently.

Harry wondered what he had done now when everyone's smile either dimmed or disappeared all together.

"It's July 31st sweetheart." Lily said softly with a sad smile.

Looking around, Harry put his head down in shame. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset everyone." He murmured.

"No, no Harry. Don't be sorry. You did nothing wrong. We forgot that you had never been told when your birthday was. I'm sorry." Godric said, holding his son tight in his arms.

***

"Uncle Mooney! Uncle Padfoot!" Five year old Harry yelled with glee, racing over to the fire place they had just stepped out of and tackling both of their legs.

Sirius and Remus were both laughing heartily, as Sirius scooped Harry up in his arms, and playfully tossed him through the air, to Mooney, who easily caught the boy, and tossed him in the air himself.

Harry couldn't catch his breath, he was laughing so hard.

"Would you two leave him alone, you're going to make him pass out from lack of oxygen." Said a smooth deep voice from the fireplace.

"Un-uncle-Ahh!-Uncle BlackFeather! Help me!" Harry practically squealed through his giggles, as Sirius and Remus continued to tickle him mercilessly.

With an, obviously faked, heavy sigh, uncle BlackFeather pulled out his wand and performed a very obvious 'Swish and flick' movement with his wand.

The two men that had been holding Harry hostage, very happily let him go as the boy was lifted up into the air, and held upside down by BlackFeather's wand.

All three men were standing back now, watching as Harry continued to bob in the air.

"How long do you think we can leave him like that before his head falls off?" Sirius asked the other two curiously.

"I don't know, could be soon, look how red his face is getting. Maybe you should put him down BlackFeather." Remus said, more in amusement than any real command.

"You know, I have a theory I wouldn't mind testing out..."Said BlackFeather thoughtfully.

"Oh? And what's that Severus?" Godric asked, coming into the room with Lily at his side.

All four of them, including Harry who was still upside down in the air, smiled as the couple entered.

"I have a theory," started Severus, "that, just like the healing charm you said he performed his first night here, as well as the summoning charm Minerva saw him do on that ruddy old hat of yours, that Harry might be able to do wordless and wandless magic effortlessly, and not just accidentally."

Following Snap's words, the other four stood looking thoughtful. As if arriving at the same thought; all five of them looked up at the still floating boy, who had somehow managed to right himself, and was now sitting cross-legged in the air.

"What do you think, Harry?" Lily asked.

Minerva, Severus, Sirius, Mooney, and even Albus, were continually astounded by the level of intelligence Harry seemed to possess at so young an age. There was no doubt that he got it honestly, with Lily Evens and Godric Gryffindor as his parents. But they also had to realise that the maturity that he showed in using that intelligence had to have come from being forced to grow up too quickly in the Dursley household.

Harry's answer reflected those traits in the only way his five year old mind could comprehend.

"Uncle BlackFeather is talking about when I tell something to happen, and it happens, right? Without me having to say anything, or have a wand, right?"

Harry had performed many bouts of _'accidental magic'_. But when asked about it, he would explain, very simply, that he had wanted something to happen, and it did.

Severus nodded. "Yes Harry, that is exactly what I am talking about. Do you think you could do it? Can you get yourself down from there without me letting you down?"

Harry seemed to think about it for a moment before he nodded, "I think so..." Harry then closed his eyes, and straightened his legs, and moved his arms out to the side so that they were parallel to the floor, and slowly brought his arms down to his sides. As his arms lowered, so did he, until his feet touched the ground, and he opened his eyes again, only to see complete shock and amazement on five different faces.

Harry blushed at the attention, but smiled proudly.

"Harry, that was incredible!" Godric announced with a whoop, before rushing over, and swooping the boy into his arms. The sound of Godric's loud voice startling everyone out of their shock.

"Cripes Cub, how in Hades did you do that?" Sirius asked, still stunned.

Harry shrugged, and answered the same way he did every time he was asked that question. "I just tell my magic to do something and it does it."

Sirius could only shake his head in disbelief, as Remus, Severus, and Lily chuckled.

***

"Mum, can I have a sword?" seven year old Harry asked, walking into the kitchen where his mother was making a pot of tea.

"What?" Lily asked, turning around with her hands on her hips.

"Harry, no! I was joking! Don't ask-!" The mighty Godric Gryffindor came skidding into the room, only to cower at the look on his wife's face.

"A sword, Eric? He's eight years old! He can't even hold a sword ye-"

"Yes I can mum, dad let me-" Harry was cut off by Godric franticly putting his hand over the boy's mouth.

Lily's eyes widened incredulously before narrowing dangerously. Lily was so angry that, when asked later, both Harry and Godric would swear that Lily's hair had started to turn into flames.

"Now Tally, love, it's not like I was teaching him how to use the thing." Harry opening his mouth, and Godric moving his hand back to cover Harry's mouth was not lost on Lily, whose eyes narrowed into slits.

"We were just in my office, and one minute he was playing with Edward, and then the next thing I knew he was holding a smaller version of my old sward." Godric explained with an obvious pleading quality to his voice.

Lily seemed to think for a moment. "Harry, is that true? Is that what happened?"

With his dad's hand still covering his mouth, Harry was left to nod.

"Eric let him go." Lily said, crossing her arms across her chest.

With slumped shoulders, Godric reluctantly released Harry, and resigned himself to the earful he was about to get.

"Now Harry, why don't you tell me what your father doesn't want me to know." Lily said sweetly, guiding Harry over to take a seat at the kitchen table as she prepared the three of them a cup of tea each. Harry noticed five other cups on the counter, and realised that uncles Mooney, Severus, and Sirius, as well as Grandma Minnie and Grandpa Albus must have been coming over later that day.

"Sit." Lily said to Godric, as she saw him try to sneak out the door he had come in through.

"Really, Lily, I-"

"Sit!"

"Ok." Godric said, quickly taking his seat.

"Alright Harry, spill." Lily commanded. Her demeanour was sweet and inviting, but her voice told them that they were already in trouble, and what they told her next was their only chance to reduce their prison sentence.

"It's just like dad said, I was playing with Ed and I told him that I needed something to help me slay the dragon, and then he gave me a sword. When Dad saw me with it, he showed me how to hold it properly, and a couple of moves. He said that, if I wanted, he would teach me how to use it properly when I was a little older."

"And exactly how much is a 'little older'?" Lily asked with trepidation.

"Next year." Harry grinned excitedly, nearly bouncing in his seat.

Lily closed her eyes, and rubbed her fore head. "Of course he did." She sighed with exasperation.

"Well think about it Lily."Godric said seriously. "You know that anything you or I or any of the others could teach him would be nothing but beneficial."

Lily's shoulders sagged. "I know Godric. But really, he's only seven years old. Can't it wait?"

"Only for a little longer, love. I want him to be as prepared as possible before he steps foot in Hogwarts."

"You guys are talking about mouldyshorts again, aren't you." Harry piped up, reminding the two adults to his presence.

Harry's statement had the desired effect of breaking the tension that had sprung up with their conversation. Godric chuckled.

"I knew Sirius would be a bad influence on you." Lily said, smiling as she shook her head.

***

"AAAAAAHhhhhhhhhh!" A loud scream ripped through the air, followed by even louder laughing.

"I swear that boy is going to be in Slytherin." Godric sighed, rubbing his head.

"Oh come now, Fluffy!" Severus laughed, ignoring Godric's glare. "He just likes to make him scream a little bit, is that really so bad?"

As if on cue, a pointed hat with a loop of rope tied around its tip came sailing through the doorway and into the room, screaming as it went.

Both Godric and Severus could only stare; as the sorting hat landed on one of the soft leather chairs with an "Oomph" and immediately started using the ties that dangled from it to try and climb up the walls.

In the same direction as the hat had entered, a ten year old Harry came racing around the corner just as the hat managed to make it onto the top corner of a painting that was far above Harry's head.

Neither the boy nor the hat seemed to notice that they had a captured audience.

"Oh come on Ed, you now I didn't mean to let go!" Harry's voice was pleading, but even Godric and Severus could see the edges of his mouth turning up in a grin.

"Hah! Nice try boy. Now say that without looking like you want to dangle me from the roof!"

There was a pause.

"Don't even think it!" The Hat yelled back furiously.

"What?" Harry shrugged innocently.

Godric and Serious were impressed. If they didn't know Harry as well as they did, they would swear that he was being sincere.

Ed just glared.

Harry's shoulders slumped.

"Fine, no more para-jumping."

Ed visibly relaxed, shutting his "eyes" and sagging forward.

"Thank Merlin." He sighed.

When Ed's eyes were shut, Harry silently crept up to the painting Ed was resting on and jumped, grabbing the long strands of fabric Ed used for arms.

"Ahh!" this scream was shorter, but no less high pitched.

Harry, Severus and Godric were nearly crying, they were laughing so hard.

"I violently dislike all of you." Ed muttered, then 'popped' out of existence.

Still giggling, Harry whipped his eyes, "I love it when he does that," and dashed out of the room to see what else he could get into.

***

"Harry, can you please come in here a moment?" Godric called from his open office door.

"Ya dad?" Harry asked from the doorway.

"Come and have a seat son. I think it's time we talk about Hogwarts..."

_Story Continues in:_ **His True Family – Book One **_Coming Soon..._


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